Chronicles from the Moyle Soviet…..Style over content and forgo the notion, if one exists, that via this blog you the reader may be carried along in some splendidly evocative swirl. Do allow for some verbal pyrotechnics while I promote my claim on the truth about questions of local governance, national and geo-political decision making that can impact on our lives. And a light-hearted sprinkling of places and characters with some pictures to complete.

Tag Archives: SDLP

No support exists in Ballycastle or the Glens of Antrim for violence. No bomb was discovered in Cushendun despite widespread media coverage to the contrary. SF the sdlp and the psni need to get off the community’s back in Ballycastle and the Glens.

The local community are demanding answers –

Why won’t police say what was discovered?

Why all the ‘cloak & dagger’?

Why is local constitutional nationalists attempting to frighten and criminalise the community in the Glens of Antrim?

Why are politicans reporting a bomb find in Cushendun yet no evidence of a bomb ever existed?

DESPERATE SF/SDLP using ‘dissident bogeyman’ to remove attention from their commitments to Tory Welfare

What sf & the sdlp failed to learn from last year’s incident in Ballycastle was no bomb existed there either. In March of 2015, A vulnerable gentleman within the community told police he was going to leave a device at the police station in Ballycastle. A hoax operation, manipulated for widespread media coverage all over Ireland, reported ‘a viable explosive device’ in Ballycastle. Two army bomb disposal teams and a controlled explosion helped add to the theatrics.

PSNI suspect device! 20,000 P45’S discovered in Stormont

Every politician within Nationalism locally attempted to paint the picture that we had ‘evil dissident bogeymen’ within our midst in the Glens. After investigating, the PSNI Press Office relented and admitted the bomb was a half bottle of petrol lying in the middle of a concrete yard. What purpose did the reporting serve? More importantly, what damage was inflicted on the reputation of the people of Ballycastle and the Glens? Last weekend’s ‘discovery in Cushendun was likewise.

What is not beyond doubt- These two parties need to remove attention from their commitments to 20,000 job cuts, their implementation of Tory Welfare reforms, their attacks on the poor and vulnerable, and their continued commitment to sectarian based politics.

The combination of MI5/PSNI attempts at manipulation of our media coupled to ‘willing lemmings’ in sf/sdlp ensures the truth is the first casualty. Tory controlled constitutional nationalism must abstain from making cheap political capital on the backs of the local community in the Glens of Antrim.

PSNI suspect device! 20,000 P45’S discovered in Stormont

No violent Republicanism exists in the Glens of Antrim but rising opposition to the Executive’s pro Tory austerity agenda is beginning to evidence itself. The incidents attempting to highlight the former seem like an attempt to obscure the later. -Cllr Padraig McShane

Moyle Independent Councillor Padraig McShane challenged local representatives from the DUP, SDLP, UUP and SF to define their positions on health. He said that local Councillors were shedding crocodile tears at the behest of their leadership who all endorsed slashing £44million from the Northern Trust Health budget between 2008 and 2011. He claimed the cuts to Health Care budgets continue unabated.

The Councillor said;

“The attacks we witnessed on Residential Care Homes last week had been instigated in 2009 following massive cuts in Health. The Executive created the on-going and systemic cuts to health. In 2009 Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the DUP rejected a proposal from the Health Unions to protect and ring-fence Health Care budgets. Why?

“The Executive are at the cutting edge of a class war against the most vulnerable in our society. Those parties who espouse Socialist values are in fact delivering right wing Tory led cuts. Socialism and class struggle are not merely defined as, or can ever be reduced to economics by itself. It must be used to enhance and preserve the Services we see the parties of the Executive categorically oppose, namely Housing, Health, Welfare, Education and Justice.

The Councillor also said it was embarrassing to watch other Councillors speak of ‘climb downs’ and welcome Minister Poots U-turn on Friday.

“Nothing changed after Poots announcement. Residential Care remains under attack from the Executive and the news that Day Care and Resource centre in Ballycastle are earmarked for closure will surprise no one. The multi millions removed from Health in the Northern Trust were not replaced. How could anyone in their right minds gloat about this like it was some form of victory?”

Minister Attwood and his officials……. Do we have to go to Ballycastle????

An Independent Councillor in Moyle has challenged the Environment Minister to evidence how a National Park will improve the lives of those who reside within it. Padraig Mc Shane was speaking following the Minister’s ‘no show’ at a public meeting to debate the issue in Ballycastle. Seven Hundred people packed into the Council offices in the forlorn hope of hearing the Ministers proposals on Wednesday night.

Councillor Mc Shane said;

“I will be requesting the Chairman of Moyle invites Minister Attwood to a special meeting of Council, at a time of his choosing, to defend his position. It is obvious the Minister has abdominal issues with large crowds given his inability to attend both at Newcastle and Ballycastle. While he afforded no respect to the community here, he may present to the Council.”

“No qualitative or quantitative evidence has been presented at any stage to justify why the people of the Causeway and Glens would wish to reside in a National Park. The opposite is true with empirical evidence supplied indicating the decimation of the locality.”

The Councillor went on to add;

“It is this reason that prevented the Minister from coming to Ballycastle to defend his proposals. The Minister should be allowed to evidence his case but he is well aware he is running on empty.

An information evening to discuss the introduction of a National Park in the Causeway Coast and Glens will go ahead in Ballycastle despite the rumoured withdrawal of the Environment Minister Alex Attwood.

The meeting set for Wednesday night at 8pm in Sheskburn House had met with the approval of Minister Attwood’s diary and according to one of those involved with the organisers, Councillor Padraig Mc Shane, “The Minister himself had approved the contents of the agenda little over a week ago”.

The minister has previously indicated he wanted two National Parks to be created, with the Mournes, the Causeway coast, the Antrim Glens and Fermanagh Lakelands identified as possible areas. But in the first public meeting in Cookstown to promote his plans, even the most unassuming spectators believed the SDLP man was ill prepared and took serious backlash as he was found wanting.

All parties to the Executive signed up to the idea of National Parks here in the 2007 programme for government but many have now hedged their bets since the public backlash to the proposals.

Moyle Independent Councillor Padraig Mc Shane confirmed;

“The meeting will go ahead as planned. Minister Attwood will have a chair reserved and he is more than welcome to attend. The meeting is first and foremost an information evening for the local community.

“The local action group put an enormous effort into this presentation and worked in partnership with the Minister, changing the date to suit his diary and going as far as to agree the agenda for the evening.

“I do not wish to suggest the Minister is running scared but we attempt to deal in facts here. The Minister got a poor response from the first public meeting in Cookstown and followed that up with a no show in Newcastle. He did apologise saying he did not receive enough notice. The Causeway Coast and Glens group invited the Minister months ago affording him the opportunity to be informed at all times. I can no longer define what enough notice means.”